Elected officials from Pitkin and Gunnison counties met in Redstone yesterday to reiterate enthusiasm for a trail connecting Crested Butte and Carbondale.

The proposed 74-mile trail is in the early stages of a complicated development process, but is seeing some progress. Discussions about such a trail began in the 1990s and finally picked up steam this year when Governor Hickenlooper tagged the area on the “16 in 2016” list that identified the state’s highest priority trails.

Two weeks ago, the coal mine near Paonia owned by billionaire Bill Koch laid off more than half of its employees. The Koch owned Oxbow Mining company hopes to expand operations again in the future and rehire some of the workers. In the meantime the layoffs are creating hardships for a number of communities.

Mike Ludlow: “It’s very sad time around the mine, you know to lose your income and lose your job is real traumatic, so it’s very painful decision for us.”